


Simple Freedoms

by C1oudStrife



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, M/M, dont rly know where this is going yet tags will prob get added as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2018-07-21
Packaged: 2018-09-19 03:09:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9415472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/C1oudStrife/pseuds/C1oudStrife
Summary: Cloud Strife gets sent to ShinRa's labs as an extra boost to security, and while he expects to come face-to-face with whatever nightmarish horrors one would think of in a creepy lab setting, he instead meets a silver-haired man named Sephiroth, who's presence in such a place and odd personality raise far too many questions for the blond.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hallo!! my new years resolution was to feel less afraid of my own works + uploading them and to try and write faster so,, kinda what this fic is for :'3c  
> (this first ch feels pretty short but,, shrug emoji)
> 
> i think the most one needs to know going into this fic is that seph never went into soldier in this au :'o hes still kinda,, hanging around the labs getting experimented on?? so nobody knows who he is like in canon  
> thats,, pretty much the basics of what this is i guess ahaa,, shrugs,,

If there was one place in Midgar that made Cloud uncomfortable, it was definitely Shinra's lab. Something about the place just gave him bad vibes, and the creep that was apparently trusted with being the head scientist didn't help with Cloud's fears.

Thus, when Cloud learned that he was being stationed in the lab as extra security, “horrified” couldn't even begin to describe the emotion churning his stomach at the news. His fears only worsened when he was told he'd have to be escorted into the lab by one of the scientists. He'd heard plenty of rumors and late night horror stories of Hojo keeping mutated creatures hidden somewhere in the lab, and Cloud's mind raced with images of various monsters waiting to feed on him.

As Cloud waited for the elevator to rise to its destination, he pondered on whether the job was even worth it. He considered the idea of just dropping all of his dreams of becoming a 1st class SOLDIER if it meant staying far away from the lab.

However, as the elevator stopped and a scientist greeted him as he stepped out, Cloud knew it was too late to change his mind.

“Strife, right?”

“Unfortunately.”

The scientist gave him a somewhat sympathetic smile before going into protocol for his time in the labs. The rules were pretty simple as far as Cloud was concerned. Don't wander anywhere you shouldn't be. Don't bother the staff. Don't touch anything. Cloud wondered why they didn't just build a robot or something for the job.

“Oh, also, one of our experiments gets rather… upset around new people. We're going to have to introduce you to him. I'm sure he'll get used to you quickly it's just… better to be precautionary.”

Cloud blinked, startled by the scientist's words. Were the rumors true, then? Hojo actually kept some sort of creepy monsters hidden in the lab?

More importantly, however, as the scientist opened the door to the lab and sealed Cloud's fate, he realized he was being taken to meet one of said monsters.

Cloud barely registered the quick tour of the open area of the lab as he imagined what sort of horrifying beast he was going to be taken to meet. He questioned if he'd even survive the encounter.

It took the blond a few moments to realize he and the scientist were standing in front of someone. It was a man, sitting quietly on a stool, with long, silver hair draping down his sides. What caught Cloud's attention though, were his eyes. They glowed an ethereal green with rather cat-like slitted pupils, and fixated on Cloud with a blank, almost dead-looking stare.

The scientist greeted the man with a smile, seeming completely unfazed by his quiet staring. He made no acknowledgment of the greeting, but the scientist continued regardless. “Sephiroth, this is Cloud, he's going to be staying around for a while.”

The man – Sephiroth – gave a small, barely noticeable nod to Cloud. Beginning to feel uncomfortable under the emotionless stare now accompanied by pure silence, Cloud simply nodded back.

Content with whatever just happened, the scientist escorted Cloud to where he would be stationed, back near the entrance of the lab, giving a final recap on the rules. Cloud, however, found himself glancing back toward Sephiroth, who was still focusing that creepy dead stare back at him.

“Don't worry about him. He stops after a while, he just doesn't meet new people often.” Cloud shook himself out of his thoughts and focused back on the scientist, who had given him a somewhat pitying smile after realizing what kept grabbing the blond's attention.

Cloud simply nodded as a response. As much as he wanted to believe that, it was rather hard to with those bright, green eyes focusing on him so strongly.

The scientists gave him a pat on the shoulder before leaving Cloud on his own.

It was only after day turned to night, and the only light in the labs was the soft green of mako and the bright glow coming from Sephiroth's eyes, that Cloud realized he'd never been introduced to the experiment he'd been dreading to meet.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been a few days since Cloud took up the lab security job, and as bored as the blond wanted to be by the lack of events happening, he'd spend the entire time being stressed out of his mind.

The problem wasn't even the mystery monster Cloud was absolutely sure was hiding around the lab somewhere, but instead was Sephiroth. The silver-haired man hadn't moved at all since meeting Cloud, and he still had that creepy, blank stare focused on the blond. Cloud was pretty sure he hadn't even seen Sephiroth so much as blink. If it weren't for their short meeting and scientists going over to check on the man every so often, Cloud genuinely would've initially assumed he wasn't even alive.

The blond let out a sigh. He hadn't gotten any sleep at all lately. The idea of Sephiroth still staring at him like that while his guard was down was enough to keep Cloud awake.

As another day began to pass, Cloud's exhaustion convinced him that he'd finally had enough. He just couldn't stand that bright green stare anymore, and, more importantly, he could use a break to sleep.

Against the better ideas going through his mind, and probably some lab rule that he didn't pay attention to, Cloud ended up deciding to deal with the situation himself. Handling problems rationally tended to not be his strong suit. It was also a trait that he would probably not improve in.

Whilst on his sleepless nightmare of a post, Cloud had learned that there was a small window of time deep into the night where most, if not all, of the scientists either went home or retreated into one of the back rooms locked away from outside eyes. He decided on using that moment to corner Sephiroth. Less people around to notice him meant less chances of getting scolded for leaving his post to go start an argument.

When the time came, Cloud slunk away from his post, heading to where Sephiroth sat while also keeping an eye open for any scientists lingering around. He pulled a stool over and sat down next to the other man, feeling even more uncomfortable being so much closer to the bright green stare that Sephiroth kept lingering on him. Cloud put on his best frustrated pout he could make, at least hoping Sephiroth would get the hint that something was wrong.

Instead, Sephiroth tilted his head in mild confusion, causing his hair to pool to the side. Cloud had to admit, it looked rather silly. The small motion was enough to throw off Cloud's sour mood and make him rethink his plan. The blond ended up deciding on trying to handle things more calmly than how he wanted to originally. Perhaps it would be better to try asking Sephiroth nicely.

Cloud cleared his throat, not very sure if Sephiroth was actually paying attention to him yet or just simply enjoyed staring at people. “Uh… Hello.”

Sephiroth simply blinked in response. Cloud was pretty sure it was the first time he'd seen the other man do so.

As silence drew on between the two, Cloud began to worry. Could Sephiroth not speak? Did Sephiroth even understand what Cloud was saying? Could he hear Cloud? The discomforting green of Sephiroth's eyes reminded Cloud of the warnings he'd heard about mako poisoning. Victims could completely lose themselves to the Lifestream, and lose all awareness of the world around them. Considering where the two men were sitting, and the hospital gown the silver haired man was wearing, Cloud felt rather safe in guessing that was the most logical answer to just about every question he had about Sephiroth. Convincing the other man to stop staring at him all the time was starting to feel hopeless.

“...Hello.”

Cloud jumped, startled. He glanced around quickly, concerned that a scientist had returned early and noticed him, before realizing that the surprisingly rather deep voice had come from Sephiroth.

“Oh! Hello. I'm Cloud. Uh… Sephiroth, right?” The man simply nodded in response. “So, not much of a talker, then?”

“I… am usually not asked to be.” 

An odd choice of words for the reply, Cloud thought, but he decided not to dwell too much on it. There was a reason the blond started the conversation, and he refused to let it segue into a different problem.

“So, out of curiosity, why do you keep staring at me all the time? I mean, it's kind of creepy.” Cloud was pretty sure he could have worded that much better, but he never was known for asking nicely.

Sephiroth blinked a couple times, taking a moment to process Cloud's question. When he finally understood, he quickly glanced away from Cloud, taking to staring down at the floor instead. “...I apologize.”

The blond let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding. He was already much more calm without that bright green gaze focused on him. “It's fine. Just try to be more careful about it from now on, alright?”

Sephiroth kept his head bowed in silence. Cloud took the elongated silence as a sign that the conversation was done, and left the silver haired man in favor of searching for a hidden corner to take a well deserved nap in.

–

When Cloud woke and returned to his post the next day, he found that Sephiroth was missing from his normal place. In fact, it seemed Sephiroth wasn't anywhere in the room at all. Cloud stared at the empty stool in concern. 

Did he upset Sephiroth? He was rather rude during their conversation last night. Would Cloud get in trouble and lose his guard shift? He wasn't complaining, honestly, but it absolutely wouldn't look good on his record when he tried ranking up in SOLDIER. The Firsts surely would be skeptical of letting in someone who couldn't even guard some creepy lab. Cloud would lose everything he worked for, all because he accidentally offended some guy who kept staring at him. It was both terrifying and frustrating.

Hours passed before Cloud caught sight of Sephiroth again. When he did, he almost regretted accusing the other man of costing him his job.

Two scientists escorted the silver-haired man out of one of the back rooms Cloud wasn't allowed in. Though, Sephiroth barely even looked conscious, and with how much he towered over the scientists trying to help carry him across the room, he ended up mostly getting dragged back to the stool he had originally been sitting in. When the scientists finally got him sitting down again, Sephiroth simply curled up on the stool and stared blankly forward.

Something about the sight unnerved Cloud. Not to mention the fact that, somehow, Sephiroth managed to look even more dead to the world than he had just the other day.

When night came around again, rather than going back to his hiding place to sleep, Cloud walked up to Sephiroth. The least he could do was check on the guy.

Sephiroth did not even react to Cloud's presence. Even when the blond waved a hand in front of his face, Sephiroth simply continued to stare blankly forward, as if the world around him wasn't even there.

Cloud was beginning to get uncomfortable. Just yesterday Sephiroth stayed so focused on him that it nearly drove Cloud out of the labs altogether, and now the silver-haired man didn't even notice his existence. Or, probably the existence of anything for that matter.

Cloud sat down in the stool next to Sephiroth's. Vaguely, in the back of his mind, he was surprised it was still there, and wondered if the scientists even questioned the sudden appearance of a second stool, but he kept his focus on his concern about Sephiroth's odd new behavior. 

The blond knew there was not much he could do for the other man, if anything at all. He hardly even knew what was going on with Sephiroth. The man probably didn't even know Cloud was sitting there next to him.

Regardless, Cloud at least wanted to do something for him. A memory came to mind, of days back in Nibelheim, when Cloud's mother told him stories as a child. His favorite was always Fenrir the Wolf, an old legend about a lone Nibel wolf. 

Cloud spent the night reciting the story to Sephiroth, including his own personal additions to the story. He wasn't even sure if Sephiroth could hear him, though the blond hoped he could.

It was as the night wore on and Cloud ended his story that the blond questioned whether or not Sephiroth's eyes seemed to somehow glow greener than usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> remember when i said im a slow writer? i. wasnt lying. oops  
> tbh i actually lost the save file for this for a while there but itS OK its here now  
> !! also its quite a bit longer than the last chapter!!
> 
> enjoy!! :'3


	3. Chapter 3

Each night after Sephiroth returned from the back room of the lab, Cloud routinely came back and sat down in the stool next to the silver-haired man, telling him about Nibelheim and his dreams of getting to SOLDIER 1st Class. Cloud still honestly didn't know whether Sephiroth could hear him or not, but liked to think that he could.

It took several days for Sephiroth to recover. Cloud heaved a sigh of relief on the night those green eyes blinked and glanced up at him, only for Sephiroth to remember their conversation before whatever caused his sudden change and glance down again. 

Cloud sat down next to Sephiroth, holding back a chuckle at the other man's usual odd behavior. “It's alright. It just gets creepy when you stare at people for a long time.”

Sephiroth glanced back up at Cloud, several emotions going through those slitted green eyes before returning to his usual neutral stare. His gaze stayed on Cloud for only a moment before shifting over his shoulder. Cloud glanced in the direction Sephiroth stared, and realized what the other man was looking at as his green eyes followed the blond's shoulder as the he moved to turn around.

Cloud shifted and unsheathed the sword that was hooked across his back. He held it in his lap, letting Sephiroth marvel at it. It was just the normal training sword most SOLDIERs received, nothing near as special as Angeal's Buster Sword or the rapier Genesis carried. 

Normally, a 3rd Class SOLDIER such as himself wouldn't even be allowed to take weapons outside of the training rooms. Cloud, however, was considered a special case, considering he'd need something to defend himself and the lab with should something happen. It technically wasn't Cloud's own weapon, and would be taken away again as soon as he was off the job, but he still was proud just to hold it. If anything, he was excited to see Sephiroth interested in the blade.

Cloud noticed a bright glint of joy in the other man's eyes before his expression blanked again. “Do you like swords?”

Sephiroth didn't answer, but based on his sudden intense focus, Cloud found it hard to assume the answer as anything other than a yes.

The blond smiled. “I like them a lot too. Though, when I become a 1st Class SOLDIER, I'd like to get one bigger and cooler than this.”

Sephiroth tilted his head to the side, and confusion glinted in his eyes for a quick moment. Cloud blinked. Did Sephiroth not know about SOLDIER? The blond found that hard to believe. They were in the same building, and there wasn't a soul in Midgar that didn't at least hear about them. Sephiroth had to know something. Yet, the blank, lost look on his face said otherwise.

Cloud sighed, remembering that Sephiroth wasn't exactly just hanging around the labs because he wanted to. If Cloud was right, and the strange man did have some form of mako poisoning, Sephiroth probably was completely unaware of most common knowledge outside few rooms he seemed to be able to wander in. Sephiroth wasn't exactly running around the rest of the Shinra building either. It was still odd to Cloud, but it could make sense for the silver-haired man to somehow be completely unaware of SOLDIER.

Sephiroth's focus shifted to Cloud, the confused glint momentarily reappearing in his eyes. The blond couldn't help but chuckle as he pulled out of his musings. At the very least it was becoming easy to tell when Sephiroth became overly curious about something.

Cloud gave in to Sephiroth's silent demands and told the man everything he could about SOLDIER. Admittedly, the most he knew himself was from the few newspapers he hoarded back in Nibelheim and the small amount of time of being a 3rd Class, but it was at least enough information, and Sephiroth seemed interested in learning. 

The rest of the night was spent with Cloud excitedly sharing the stories of the 1st Class SOLDIERs, making sure Sephiroth was as updated as he could be on the information. The green-eyed man practically absorbed the information, various expressions flashing momentarily on his face as he stayed focused on Cloud's words. By the time Cloud had to return to his post, Sephiroth was well caught up in what could possibly be known about SOLDIER.

By the next night, Sephiroth was gone again. His absence so soon after recovering worried Cloud, but there wasn't much the blond could do. Even still, he didn't get much sleep that night. Cloud's mind stayed focused on Sephiroth, hoping the man would be alright and wishing he could just go into the restricted rooms and find any way to help.

Sephiroth thankfully returned the next morning, though he was back in that blank, dissociative state that concerned Cloud. The blond was getting worried that whatever was wrong with Sephiroth may have been getting worse. They hardly knew each other that well, but Cloud was getting used to the odd man's company, and the idea of something bad happening to his new friend was discomforting. Even if they weren't friends, Cloud figured that whatever was going on with Sephiroth wasn't fair to anyone. However, even sitting right next to the strange, green-eyed man, there was still nothing Cloud could think of to do. He didn't even know what was wrong. 

Cloud ended up going back to telling whatever stories came to mind, hoping that, at the very least, Sephiroth could hear him and find some sort of comfort in his voice.

As Cloud spent the nights talking and waiting for Sephiroth to recover, a thought came to him. Knowing practically nothing about Sephiroth's situation frustrated him, and of course Cloud doubted that the scientists would tell him anything. He was only a hired guard expected to just stand quietly in the corner after all. However, there was the chance of asking Sephiroth himself about what was going on, and possibly getting some sort of answer to start with. Cloud certainly wouldn't be able to give Sephiroth any medical help himself, but at the very least, perhaps he could find something to do even just to ease the man's stay.

Thus, when Sephiroth glanced up at him in greeting again a few nights later, Cloud was nearly ecstatic. The blond sat down in his usual spot next to the silver-haired man, careful to remind himself not to just start their meeting by bombarding Sephiroth with questions.

Cloud smiled and said a small hello. Sephiroth stayed quiet, but a quick glint of happiness in those bright, green eyes was enough of a response. The two quickly settled back into Cloud talking about whatever came to mind and Sephiroth listening intently. It wasn't until well into their one man conversation that Cloud decided to bring up his main topic.

“So… not to get all into your personal space or anything, but is it alright if I ask why you're in a place like this?” Cloud gestured his hand out toward the rest of the lab, adding to his point that it wasn't exactly a place people wanted to be.

Sephiroth gave a halfhearted shrug. Cloud was mildly surprised that Sephiroth didn't know, but, at the same time, it did possibly make sense. If it really was some kind of mako poisoning, Sephiroth could very well be completely unaware of the problem.

“Oh, alright then. Well… how long have you been here?”

Sephiroth's head tilted to the side in thought. “A long time.”

“How long is that?”

Confusion twisted momentarily on Sephiroth's face. Cloud wondered if perhaps the math was hard for him.

“I'll rephrase that. How old were you when you got here?”

“Small.” Another vague answer, but it did mean that Sephiroth had been suffering from whatever the problem was for a long time. Since he was a child, it sounded like.

“How old are you now?”

Sephiroth responded with silence, and Cloud caught another hint of confusion build in his green eyes.

The blond was beginning to feel uncomfortable. “Do you know anything about yourself?”

“My name is Sephiroth.” The sentence was stated with cold finality, and anger burned in the silver-haired man's eyes. Cloud took it as a hint that the conversation was over. He got up and gave Sephiroth some space.

As the blond snuggled into his hiding space again however, he found himself still unable to sleep. He couldn't imagine the life Sephiroth was living, stuck in a lab all the time and knowing only his first name. Even just thinking about it gave Cloud chills. Nobody deserved to go through life like that, especially for as long as Sephiroth apparently had.

However, the new information, or lack thereof, gave Cloud an idea on how he could help. It wouldn't be easy, but perhaps he could find out something about Sephiroth. Maybe Cloud could give the other man even just something small to remember. Sephiroth deserved having at least anything more than just clinging to a single name all his life.

Yes, Cloud very much liked that plan. He'd start searching as soon as he could.


	4. Chapter 4

Cloud quickly got to work searching through the area of the labs he was allowed in for whatever information he could find about Sephiroth. Considering the scientists would no doubt be upset at him for rummaging through their work, he began balancing his nights between talking to Sephiroth and looking around. More often than not, the blond would end up using the nights that Sephiroth went into his strange, silent state to put as much time as he could into finding out anything. He felt bad to leave Sephiroth alone, but reminded himself that if he did manage to find something, it would all be worth it.

Unsurprisingly, Cloud pretty much came up with nothing no matter how much he searched. The scientists were careful about where they left any confidential information. As Cloud looked for any signs of where he could possibly get anything, he also took notice that, out of all the scientists, Hojo was usually the one to visit Sephiroth, usually writing notes on a clipboard after attempting conversation. Cloud was absolutely sure that clipboard had the information he was looking for, but, of course, it was probably the most safeguarded item in the entire building. The blond pondered over how he could possibly grab that clipboard long enough to get even just a sliver of information off of it. 

Somehow, his thought process brought him to end up breaking one of the simpler rules of his job. Thankfully, the risk was well worth it. Cloud stood in the control room that served as the uppermost level of the labs, overlooking his usual area through the window, and in front of him, sitting neatly on the table, was the clipboard he was looking for. 

Cloud carefully glanced around to make sure nobody saw him and picked up the clipboard. It was obvious there were a lot of pages missing, but Cloud hoped he could at least learn something from what was available.

The first page was simply patient information. Cloud frowned at it. Sephiroth's name was mostly scratched out in pen and just barely legible, simply replaced by a red letter “S” thrown in front of it. His last name was so heavily scratched out that Cloud was unable to figure out what it was. His birthday was not even listed, and a general guess was thrown in as his age. Really, the only information that was filled out correctly was all medical health related, such as his blood type and eye color. As helpful as that was, Cloud was looking for something more personal. He wanted to give Sephiroth something nice to remember.

The next page was filled with more scientific notes that Cloud had no hope of understanding. He attempted regardless, hoping to find anything understandable about Sephiroth's condition.

Most of what Cloud tried to read was absolute nonsense to him. Numbers and abbreviations covered the page, and the blond lost hope of trying to decode it. It was only after a couple quick scans that Cloud managed to find something about mako dosages. He remembered that every SOLDIER usually gets a dose of mako for enhancements, and how risky it was if the dosage was too much for the individual. His friend Zack had gotten a fairly high dosage after ranking up and becoming a 1st Class, but Cloud couldn't help but balk at the number on Sephiroth's papers. The blond had no idea exactly how high Zack's dosage had been, he simply knew the general idea Zack had told him while on a recovery break, but he was absolutely sure Sephiroth was sitting at an uncomfortably higher dosage. Cloud's own dosage as a 3rd was hardly a fragment of the number glaring up at him from the paper. As he read further, he noticed that the dosage dates matched up with the days Sephiroth disappeared on before going into that odd state. 

Were the scientists purposefully overdosing Sephiroth with mako? Cloud shook the thought out of his head. That would be far too inhumane, even for Hojo. He was probably just misreading the numbers anyway. Still, in the back of his mind, the dates bothered him. 

Cloud forced himself to stop thinking so hard about it and turned the page. Notes littered the last few pages in barely legible handwriting. The first set of notes had more scientific nonsense, though Cloud noticed the name Jenova was repeated often. Cloud managed to decipher that most of the information was on Sephiroth's interaction with her, and the blond guessed that she was probably one of the scientists. He didn't care much to figure out what their names were, after all. Again, Cloud noticed a pattern with the dates. It seemed most of the time, Sephiroth completely ignored her and even sometimes made a point to avoid her in any way he could. However, on the dates that matched with Sephiroth's mako injections, he was much more willing to talk to her. On a couple days, the notes mentioned that Sephiroth would ask for her specifially, refusing to talk to anyone else. An addendum was also on those days mentioning that Sephiroth's dosage was raised to see if it would change anything.

The previous page filled Cloud's mind again. He desperately didn't want to believe that the scientists were using mako in some way to harm Sephiroth, but at this point, he just could not see any other way to describe what the facts were telling him. He quickly turned the page again, wanting to just get back to getting as much information as possible before someone could notice him rummaging through things in a restricted area.

The last two pages were about Cloud himself, and were labeled as “social interaction tests.” He was never referred to by name, but the beginning of the first page made note that the scientists wanted to see how Sephiroth would act around a new blond SOLDIER guard, and Cloud was pretty sure there was nobody else around that would fit that description.

Most of the notes consisted of confusing scientific words again, and what Cloud could understand was just things he already knew. Granted, the knowledge that Hojo was aware that Cloud was routinely conversing with Sephiroth was concerning. Though, since neither he nor the other scientists said anything to the blond and even seemed to gladly allow the meetings to continue, Cloud figured it at least meant he wouldn't get in trouble for it.

The last page was much more surprising to Cloud. A small note was scrawled above large, neater paragraphs, stating that Sephiroth developed a strong interest in something he learned from the blond guard. Cloud quickly realized that the paragraphs in question that it pointed to were from Fenrir the Wolf, complete with his personal edits.

The blond couldn't help but smile. Sephiroth could hear him after all, and had even enjoyed the tale. The new knowledge at least gave Cloud some form of peace of mind. The green-eyed man could hear him after all, and had even taken comfort in his words. It was a nice tidbit to learn. 

However, it still was not what Cloud was looking for. He still hadn't found anything about Sephiroth himself, other than whatever odd tests the scientists seemed to be conducting on him with the mako overdoses and Jenova. Cloud wanted to read through the notes one more time to see if he missed anything he could understand, but ended up deciding that he'd spent far too much time already snooping around in a restricted area. He carefully put the clipboard back where he found it and left to return to his post.

Cloud managed to escape being seen as he returned to the main room. However, on his way back to where he should have already been, he passed by Hojo, who carried a folder back toward the room Cloud came from. The blond was almost sure that folder had the missing pages from what was on the clipboard. Part of him wanted to stay and get the rest of those pages, but he knew he was pushing his luck already. As if on cue, Hojo glanced at Cloud before disappearing out of sight, almost like he was silently warning the blond “I know what you just did.”

Cloud shivered. He knew he was definitely getting himself into something bad. Though, in a way, the realization served to just give him a reason to push onward. He got himself into this because he wanted to help Sephiroth, and though originally that meant finding out the man's personal information to give him something other than just his first name to cling to, it now also meant finding out something to do about the scientists apparently keeping Sephiroth around as some sort of mako lab rat.

As he thought about what to do, Cloud managed to make it back to his post without any further issues. He looked over to where Sephiroth usually sat. The man was there, but he was back in that blank state again. Knowing it was because he was so heavily drugged on mako now made it even more sickening to Cloud to see. He glanced away, not wanting to see those bright green eyes anymore.

The blond decided on letting Sephiroth have some space for now. He felt bad, especially knowing that Sephiroth was capable of hearing him after all, but he just wasn't sure it was a good idea at the moment. There was too much on his mind, and he knew he wouldn't be able to come up with anything to say. He was also very sure that Sephiroth should hear about the information he discovered, but Cloud had absolutely no idea how to tell him yet. Besides, it would be better to wait until Sephiroth was feeling well to break the news to him, anyway.

Cloud thought about how he would tell Sephiroth about his findings, and, while he did so, he hoped the green-eyed man would get better quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote like half of this ch when i posted the last one. i feel fast haha  
> its mostly Important Plot Stuff for this ch; i was gonna add some stuff w seph to it but i thought itd work better as the start of the next ch :'3
> 
> also, some real talk: i wasnt planning on this being. too long lmao. as ive said, this was my new years resolution fic, and ive been trying new things w it and its done a p good job so far of doin its resolution job haha.  
> anyway, this ch and the start of the next ch were kinda the halfway point in my notes. idk if its exactly halfway in terms of word count/chapters, but hey, we're about halfway there


	5. Chapter 5

A few days had passed before Sephiroth showed his usual signs of returning to normal. By the time he was able to speak again, Cloud managed to decide how to tell the silver-haired man about what he'd found.

As he approached Sephiroth, the blond was surprised to find a glint of anger burning in the other man's eyes. Sephiroth even made a point to look away when Cloud sat down next to him.

Cloud frowned. “Is something wrong?”

“You meddled in something you should not have.”

The blond shivered. He'd been caught after all. It was most likely Hojo who found out; he was the only person Cloud passed by. Still, he wasn't quite sure why Sephiroth would be mad at him, or why the silver-haired man would even be told. “I wanted to find out something to help you. You hardly know anything about yourself, its not fair!”

“Some things are better left unknown.”

“It's your life! You have a right to know! Are you even aware of what they're doing to you? It's wrong! Nobody should go through this!”

Cloud could see Sephiroth's frustration starting to build. “What do you know? They give me a place to stay, a bed to sleep in, and food to eat. There is nothing more I need.”

“They aren't even treating you like a human being!”

Sephiroth stood abruptly, fixating his cold green stare on the blond. Cloud instinctively shrank down into his seat. If anything, for a man in a hospital gown who was only ever seen sitting around all the time, Sephiroth could turn terrifying in a quick moment. “Perhaps I am not! Perhaps I never was! What does it even have to do with you?”

Before Cloud could respond, Sephiroth turned and stomped away. The blond heaved out a sigh as he watched the other man's silver hair disappear behind a door to a restricted room. That definitely did not go as well as he had hoped. Unfortunately, there wasn't much Cloud could do to fix the situation, and he was pretty sure he'd just keep saying the wrong things and making it worse anyway. 

Confused and frustrated, the blond decided on simply calling it a day, and wandered off to his usual hiding spot to take a nap. There was no use just sitting there and moping about it, after all. Perhaps Sephiroth would be in a better mood later.

Instead, however, Cloud woke up the next day to find that Sephiroth hadn't come back. In fact, over the next week, there was no sign of the green-eyed man. Cloud found himself constantly staring at the two empty stools in worry. He hadn't meant to upset Sephiroth; he just wanted to help somehow. Instead, he may have accidentally made things worse. It was certainly how Cloud usually ended up solving his problems.

Finally, after a few more days of silence, Sephiroth returned. He sat in his usual place, though he hung his head, hiding his face as if he were sad.

As soon as he got the chance, Cloud cautiously walked over to Sephiroth. The silver-haired man didn't move, which Cloud took as permission to approach. He slowly moved closer and sat down in the empty stool. A few moments of silence passed between them before Cloud decided to speak. 

“Hey, sorry for yelling at you the other day. That was pretty rude of me.”

Sephiroth stayed quiet and continued to stare down at the ground. Cloud hoped it meant he accepted the apology. At least he wasn't angry anymore.

Cloud heaved a sigh and shifted his focus up to the ceiling. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the loud movement caused Sephiroth to shift ever so slightly.

The blond looked back at Sephiroth again. “Just… listen, okay? You don't have to talk, and you don't have to agree with me, but just hear out what I have to say, alright? We can never talk again after this if you don't want to. Just at least let me speak my mind a little.”

Sephiroth still refused to respond. Cloud took it as permission to continue.

“I know you said these guys take care of you, giving you food and a bed and all that stuff, but there's a difference between being alive and living, and it sounds to me like they've got you concentrating on the former. If you could choose anywhere on the Planet you could be right now, would this place be your first choice? Not what they want you to choose, but if you genuinely chose for yourself.”

As Cloud finished, he noticed bright green glowing from behind silver bangs. Sephiroth was staring at him, quietly listening.

The two sat in silence again, with neither really wanting to say much more about the sore subject. Cloud decided to try changing the subject for a bit. “Who's Jenova?”

The blond caught a shift in Sephiroth's eyes, though he wasn't sure what expression the man was currently making. The small glow of color disappeared again as Sephiroth looked back down at the floor. “My mother… I think.”

“Are you not sure?”

Sephiroth's hair shifted as he attempted hiding his face further. “Hojo told me, and she prefers being called that.”

“Do you like her as your mother?”

Sephiroth quietly avoided responding.

“Do you even like talking to her?”

The man still didn't speak, but weakly shook his head no. Cloud watched his long hair swish back and forth with the movement.

Frustration started building in Cloud's chest again. “See, this is what I'm talking about. You're not happy here. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life like this, just because they told you to?”

Sephiroth sat thinking for a moment. “What else can I do?”

Cloud's emotions brought him to his feet as he realized his words finally got through Sephiroth's head, and he shifted to stand in front of the depressed mass of silver hair. “You can get out of here! You can run away and never look back and be free to do whatever you want!” The blond held out his hand as he spoke. “I'll help you.”

The silver hair shifted as Sephiroth finally looked up. His eyes glowed in confusion as he stared at Cloud's extended arm. “You… want me to leave now?”

“Why not? We've got the perfect chance to get out of here before anyone can say anything. Even if they quickly find out that we left, we'll still get a good head start.”

Sephiroth tilted his head slightly, worry mixing into the expression on his face. “Where would we go?”

Cloud frowned. That was a good question. If they were leaving, they probably should get out of Midgar. The city would certainly be unsafe to stay in, considering the scientists would most likely start a search for Sephiroth as soon as they realized he was missing. There was also the fact that if Cloud was going to give Sephiroth a good first impression of the outside world, Midgar certainly wouldn't be the most wonderful choice. It was big and awe-inspiring, but it was also dirty and the sky was constantly covered in smog.

Nibelheim was the next place Cloud thought of, but he decided against there as well. Leaving a city like Midgar to go to some extremely small town awkwardly placed under a mountain range seemed like it would be a disappointing change of scenery to someone who'd never seen anything beyond bland white rooms. There was also the fact that ShinRa would easily be able to guess who Sephiroth would be traveling with, and Cloud's hometown was the most obvious first place to search.

The blond SOLDIER tried thinking harder about possible locations. He wanted to take Sephiroth somewhere as shocking and amazing as he once considered Midgar, but prettier and more interesting. A place that could show Sephiroth the life he'd been missing out on.

Cloud shifted and held his hand out more firmly as an idea came to mind. “I'll take you to the Gold Saucer.”

“The… Gold Saucer?” Sephiroth's tone made it clear he had no idea what Cloud was talking about.

“It's a big amusement park kind of place. There's a lot of rides and games and other fun stuff. It's pretty famous. I've never actually been there myself, but hey, we can try it out together.”

Sephiroth contemplated the option placed before him. He decided to trust the blond, and took Cloud's outstretched hand in his own as he stood up.

The two started making their way toward the main elevator until Sephiroth stopped and pulled his hand out of Cloud's grasp. The sudden lack of motion caused the blond to get pulled backward, and he found himself shocked at how easily Sephiroth unbalanced him. He turned around to ask what the problem was just in time to watch silver hair disappear behind a door.

Cloud blinked, trying to process what just happened. Did Sephiroth change his mind? Did he not want to leave anymore? Was he going to tell someone about Cloud's plan?

The blond SOLDIER told himself to calm down. Every time that he'd panicked so far, everything turned out fine. Perhaps there was a reason Sephiroth ran off. He did seem like he wanted Cloud to stay and wait.

Sure enough, after a few moments, Sephiroth returned. In his arms were a bundle of leather and the most ridiculously long katana Cloud had ever seen. Sephiroth did mention before that he had an interest in swords, this one must have been special to him. In fact, everything he was holding was probably important to him. Cloud realized it would make sense that Sephiroth wouldn't own much, considering how much of his life was spent locked in the lab; the few things the man was holding may have been all he'd ever had.

“Is that yours? Do you want to take it with you?”

Sephiroth nodded as he clung protectively to his few belongings.

“Let me help with that, then.” Cloud stepped forward and put his hands on the sword, looking at Sephiroth to make sure the man was alright with him taking it. Seeing no sign of discomfort, the blond hoisted the weapon over his own shoulder. As he did so, he took note that it was much heavier than he expected. While Sephiroth seemed to have no problems carrying it, Cloud was having trouble just keeping it balanced.

The SOLDIER took a moment to find a comfortable angle to hold the sword before beginning to guide Sephiroth to the elevator again. This time, the silver-haired man didn't object and stepped into the enclosed space with no complaint. Cloud followed after him, careful not to accidentally hit anything with the large weapon slung over his shoulder. He glanced over at Sephiroth as he hit the button for the bottom floor, and felt his heart burn when he noticed the man examining the room with awe similar to that of a small child seeing the world for the first time. He needed to get Sephiroth out of this building, no matter what.

Cloud stood quietly in the elevator, watching his green-eyed companion take in the new sights. He smiled at the fact that Sephiroth already seemed happier and more active. 

Moments passed, and as Cloud's patience toward being in a small space with a heavy sword dwindled, a thought occurred to him. He glanced at the control panel, checking to see what floor they were on, and realized how slow the elevator was moving. At the rate it was going, it would have been faster to take the stairs. Cloud could have sworn it was faster back when he came up.

The blond began fidgeting in panic as he mentally tried willing the elevator to go faster. The window of time he and Sephiroth had to escape was small, and dwindling quickly. Going down the stairs started to seem like a much better idea.

Cloud stopped the elevator on the nearest floor, catching Sephiroth's attention. “We're taking a detour. Come on.” The shorter man took a moment to check if anyone was around before carefully guiding Sephiroth out. They dashed toward the back stairwell of the building, and Cloud locked the door behind them.

Sephiroth stared down the dark spiral of steps, surprised by how far they went. Cloud quietly tapped his shoulder and tilted his head toward the first set of stairs. As much as he'd love to give his silver-haired friend a moment to satisfy his curiosity, the timer was still ticking. The taller man nodded in understanding. Cloud stepped back to let him go first, but instead, Sephiroth stared back at the dark abyss that was the bottom, climbed over the railing, and jumped.

Cloud immediately started running, taking steps two or three at a time, his heart racing in his chest. What in the Planet's name did Sephiroth think he was doing? Was he alright? Cloud should have explained the plan better. He thought it would be common sense to walk down the steps, but apparently Sephiroth didn't quite grasp the concept like Cloud expected. If Sephiroth had gotten hurt from the ridiculous stunt, Cloud would absolutely blame himself for it. The thought of a lifeless pile of silver hair possibly waiting for him at the bottom pushed his legs faster.

Instead, thankfully, when Cloud rounded the last set of steps, he found Sephiroth patiently standing there, completely oblivious to the reason for his friend's panic.

Cloud, out of breath and beginning to feel a mixture of exhaustion and relief, stumbled over to the man and put his free hand on his shoulder. “Hey… maybe give me a warning the next time you want to do something like that, okay?” 

Sephiroth tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“Just… try to stay close to me.”

The green-eyed man quietly nodded, though he still seemed as if he didn't really understand what the problem was.

Cloud sighed. Sure, it probably made sense that a man who'd spent his entire life just sitting around and being drenched in mako wouldn't mind trying such a high risk stunt, but the blond at least expected Sephiroth to sense some amount of danger in it. Cloud decided that, eventually, he was going to have to sit Sephiroth down and teach him what was and wasn't a good idea to just run around doing, with “jumping down stairwells to make the trip faster” being at the top of the “do not do this” list.

For now though, it was time to get out of ShinRa tower. Cloud opened the door behind them, and the two stepped out into the back streets of Midgar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY what up heres another chapter  
> sorry this one took so long i kind of got a writers block for a while there but uh  
> hey this chapters a bit longer than the others theres a plus?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy end of the year heres another chapter to this fic  
> im still working on it lmao just... very very slowly.

Cloud's heart beat heavily in his chest as he worked the plan out in his head. There were too many eyes in Midgar that could quickly pick out his familiar face. Being a low-ranking SOLDIER, he could probably slip by them before they realized something was wrong, but the tall, silver-haired man in nothing but a hospital gown following behind him would raise too many questions. He and Sephiroth would have to stay in back alleys for as long as they could, at least until they got through the slums and closer to the city's exit.

The blond decided to take a moment to catch his breath and shift the position of the large sword he carried over his shoulder. No sense in trying to get through the city worn out and weighted down. As he rested, he glanced over to Sephiroth to check on how the other man was doing.

The taller man had his head craned back, his green eyes widening in awe as he attempted to stare up at the top of the building they exited from. Cloud looked up as well. The higher floors were hidden by fog, but the immense size of the tower was still evident, especially when compared to the other buildings around it. 

Sephiroth seemed completely overwhelmed by the city, as if shocked by how big the world around him really was. If anything, Sephiroth's reaction made Cloud more excited to show him the rest of the planet, and how Midgar was just a small fraction of it.

Deciding they've taken enough time to rest, Cloud gently grabbed Sephiroth's arm and guided him further into the alleyway. He didn't know the back routes very well, but the sooner they at least got away from ShinRa tower, the better. He could build a mental map as they walked.

Granted, the blond quickly learned that for a large, intricate city, not much planning was made when it came to Midgar's back streets. Paths intersected in multiple places and there were more than enough dead ends everywhere the two went. Cloud's map became useless as they wandered alley after alley, and he ended up keeping more of a guide of how far they were from ShinRa tower rather than trying to figure out how close they were to the stairway down to the slums.

Eventually, however, they managed to find what Cloud was looking for. He'd never felt so relieved to see a flight of stairs in his life, and that included the several stories he ran down not too long ago. He took a moment to rest again, trying to catch his breath as well as he could without staying in one place for too long. 

Really, the break didn't help at all, and Cloud found himself thinking about a nice soft bed to just flop into for at least the rest of the month, but there certainly was not enough time for that now. He needed to get Sephiroth out of the city first, even if it meant running to the point of exhaustion.

Cloud looked over to his silver-haired friend to see if he was ready to go. Once they went down those stairs, there was no coming back, after all. Sephiroth was staring calmly back at Cloud, almost seeming concerned about the fact that they'd stopped. He hardly even seemed to have broken a sweat, and Cloud decided he felt even more worn out even just glancing at the man. The blond reminded himself that he was probably more tired because Sephiroth wasn't the one trying to carry around two rather uncomfortable swords. Or, at least, a normal sword comfortably sheathed on his back and an uncomfortably large and heavy katana that managed to get brought along.

Cloud gently put his free hand on Sephiroth's shoulder, mostly wanting to lean some of the ridiculous weight he was carrying on the taller man, and guided him down toward the slums. The blond was just making himself upset by standing there thinking about how much he'd like to get somewhere he could rest instead of actually moving.

On the bright side of things, the two at least didn't have to be quite as careful about anyone seeing them in the lower area of Midgar. People in the slums were used to the Turks hunting down just about anyone, and could be much more understanding about a couple of runaways hiding out. Cloud figured it would still be best to keep a low profile and avoid any questions as they passed through, but he could at least find some comfort in being aware that even ShinRa would have to pay someone the right price to find out information on the escapees.

Cloud's grip tightened on Sephiroth's arm as they walked through the streets. Thankfully, it seemed like a pretty slow night, and not many people were out wandering. Plus, as the blond expected, the few they did pass hardly cared about the SOLDIER Third and the man following behind him. The duo easily made it to the door that separated Midgar from the rest of the planet and quickly sneaked out.

Sephiroth's eyes widened as he took in the vast, seemingly unending view in front of him. Personally, Cloud would have preferred first showing the man any kind of landscape other than the large wasteland that surrounded ShinRa's popular city, but Sephiroth hardly cared. The world was so much bigger than the small lab he'd called home for so long, and he could travel to any part of it he wanted. The pure joy and curiosity shining in his bright green eyes had Cloud even taking a moment to appreciate the view.

As they stared out as far as they could see, Cloud's exhaustion suddenly felt far more evident than it had before. They needed to get away from Midgar and find somewhere to rest.

The blond decided on at least making it to Kalm. It would be an obvious choice, but it was the nearest town with a comfortable inn to take a break at. Besides, wandering around without a plan would just end up making the two even easier to catch.

Cloud checked to make sure his travel partner was ready to move again, feeling sure that Sephiroth had to be getting as tired as he felt by this point. Surprisingly, however, the man showed no signs of weariness. In fact, once he finished taking in the view, he looked even more energized than when they were sneaking through the city. Cloud sighed, deciding it would be better to just start walking instead of stand there trying to figure out how Sephiroth worked.

The trip was longer than the blond would have liked, and by the time they made it to the town, the sun had long since risen into the sky. Cloud had no doubts that ShinRa most likely already started their hunt for the two.

He shook his head. Best not to dwell on it too much.

Cloud got the two a shared room at the inn, careful to pay quickly to keep anyone from questioning him. The blond nearly cried at the sight of the questionably comfortable beds as he guided Sephiroth inside. He leaned the swords he'd been carrying against a wall and sighed, relieved to not be so weighed down by them anymore.

Cloud turned to ask Sephiroth to pick which bed he wanted, only to remember the bundle of leather the man had been carrying the whole time. “Those are clothes, right? Do you want to change into them?”

Sephiroth's eyes brightened, and he nodded happily. Cloud smiled as he left the room to give the man some privacy. He had no doubt that Sephiroth had been waiting for that question since they left ShinRa's tower. 

Deciding that he didn't have the energy to wander too far, Cloud sat against the wall facing the door of their room, waiting for Sephiroth to finish getting changed. They still had a long, difficult journey ahead of them, but at least the hardest part was out of the way.

As he began dozing off, the door opened, and Sephiroth stepped out. Cloud blinked as he quickly stood up, questioning if his sleepiness was causing him to misinterpret the new outfit of the man before him. However, as his mind caught back up with reality, he learned that was not the case.

Sephiroth's hospital gown had been replaced completely by leather. Most notably, the piece that stood out was the long leather coat that reached down to cover his knee-high boots. Not to mention the fact that his legs were just about the only thing the coat covered. His chest was completely exposed, save for the two leather straps that crossed in an X-shape underneath the open front. The unique ensemble was topped off with large metal shoulder pauldrons, which were probably the only part of the outfit that wasn't made of leather somehow.

It was… different, to say the least. Certainly not something Cloud ever wanted to be seen in, but it actually suited Sephiroth, in a way. Of course, the man looked better in anything compared to what was basically an oversized rag. 

The two returned to the room, and Cloud shut the door behind them. The blond noticed that Sephiroth's hospital gown had been rather hatefully tossed in the corner, torn into complete shreds. He had a strong feeling the silver-haired man took out a bit of his anger on the piece of cloth, and honestly, Cloud couldn't blame him. 

Still, though, Cloud was going to have to figure out something to do with it. He planned on just tucking the old bit of clothing away to carry with them, but he couldn't see carrying around literal scraps. They made enough of a mess on the floor. 

Thinking on it, the Turks would already be well aware that the escapee duo had run to Kalm. It was where everyone leaving Midgar went. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to just throw out the scraps while in the town. The Turks probably would have been informed of Sephiroth stealing the uniform he was now wearing, but getting rid of the hospital gown completely would at least give them one last thing to follow. It could leave them following the trail around Kalm for a while, long enough for Cloud to hopefully come up with a better plan. 

The blond swept up the scraps of fabric from the floor and threw them away in a proper trash can. At least the clothing was the only thing Sephiroth had decided to take out his anger on. 

Speaking of Sephiroth, he was still awkwardly standing by the door, watching Cloud clean. The blond smiled at his travel partner and asked him to pick which bed he wanted. Sephiroth wordlessly chose the one further from the door, over by a window Cloud had revealed and opened whilst cleaning, and quietly sat down on it. 

Cloud nodded approvingly, and flopped onto the other bed. Almost immediately, his body relaxed in relief to finally rest. He rolled into a more comfortable position. “Hey, I'm taking a nap for a bit. Do what you want, but stay here, alright?” Sephiroth didn't respond, and Cloud was too tired to see if the man made any of his silent responses, but the blond figured Sephiroth would understand Cloud's reasoning and stay put. Cloud hardly had time to change his mind anyway, as his exhaustion took control and he fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey remember when i was still writing this  
> thats still a thing. ive just been super slow.  
> tbh i had most of this chapter done since january since i wanted to upload it as an anniversary thing bc dang its been over a year now but didnt get to finish it before needing a break.

It was dark again by the time Cloud woke up from his nap. Part of him felt worried for oversleeping, but he figured he needed the rest, and it would probably be better to travel at night anyway. He wasn't sure if it was humanly possible to throw off the Turks' sleeping schedule, but it was worth a try if it at least got Sephiroth a bit further from Midgar. 

He sat up and stretched, happy to find that his body was at least rested enough to not be near as worn out as he'd been when he fell asleep. He still liked the idea of sleeping for the next month, but he had something more important to handle, and the amount of sleep he got was better than nothing at all. He glanced over to check if his travel partner was more rested and ready to go as well… only to find Sephiroth's bed empty. 

Cloud's heart beat heavy with panic. He told himself to stay calm as he got up. Sephiroth probably just got bored of sitting and waiting for Cloud to wake up, he probably just decided to wander around the room. 

Except Sephiroth wasn't anywhere else in the room, either. 

No problem. Maybe he just interpreted “stay here” as staying in the building. That would have been Cloud's fault for not being more clear about the request. At the very least, he noticed Sephiroth's sword still leaning against the wall, hopefully meaning the man intended not going far. 

Cloud left the room and went downstairs, looking around the inn for that familiar silver hair as he approached the front desk. The woman who'd signed them into the room was still there. “Hey, the guy who was with me, did you see him come through here?”

She smiled. “Oh, yes, he went out a few hours ago.”

A few hours? Cloud severely regretted oversleeping now. Hopefully Sephiroth was still in the town. Hopefully the Turks weren't. 

Cloud hastily scurried out of the inn, praying to find Sephiroth safe and nearby. To his dismay, he found that the town was still rather active at night. Even if Sephiroth was still around, Cloud was going to have to search around for him. The blond began pushing past people as he moved away from the inn, hardly caring about the dirty looks he got because of it. 

Several minutes passed as Cloud looked around. The longer he searched for Sephiroth, the more he began panicking. Surely a man with silver hair and clad in leather should be easy to find? Of course, that was if he was actually still in town. Or if someone else hadn't found him first. 

As more time passed, Cloud was beginning to wear himself out again. He began making his way back to the inn, deciding that it would be better to rest and come up with a new plan on what to do. He sighed, depressed. It had hardly been a day and he already lost the man he was supposed to protect. Some SOLDIER he was. Or… he supposed it was Ex-SOLDIER now, considering it would be a miracle if he was even allowed to return to Midgar after helping Sephiroth escape. Granted, if he got caught, he'd be the luckiest man in the world to even be left alive. 

It was while he trudged past a street vendor that a flash of bright silver caught his eye. Cloud quickly turned to face it. Yes, there: Sephiroth was looking at the wares of a fruit stand, perfectly calm and safe.

Cloud changed direction to walk toward his friend instead, his movement now slower and more relaxed as he kept Sephiroth in his sight. The taller man's back was facing his friend, and Cloud couldn't help but notice how much his long hair shone under the moonlight, as if lit up with magic. The blond wondered how in the planet's name he wasn't able to spot it earlier. Sephiroth looked almost ethereal compared to the people around him. Well, better late than never, Cloud supposed. 

The man in charge of the fruit stand greeted Cloud as he approached. The blond gave a simple wave in return, still preoccupied with making sure he didn't lose track of Sephiroth again. Cloud moved to stand next to his silver-haired friend, and leaned a bit to make sure Sephiroth would notice he was there.

Sephiroth seemed busy being completely focused on a small fruit he was holding in his hands. Cloud couldn't see it well from how the other man was holding it, but he was beginning to recognize that awed look Sephiroth got when he was curious about something new.

Cloud gently put a hand on Sephiroth's wrist, not quite sure if the man really noticed him yet due to how focused he was on the fruit. He caught a bit of green as only Sephiroth's eyes moved in response. It was enough confirmation for Cloud that he had Sephiroth's attention for sure this time. “Do you want to buy that?”

Sephiroth silently tilted his head to the side, confused, as he refocused on the fruit. Right, he probably never bought anything before. The entire concept was probably lost to him.

It was obvious, though, that he had some form of interest in that fruit. Cloud turned to the vendor instead. “How much is it?”

“Ten gil.” 

The price could be worse, Cloud supposed. He paid the ten gil. Teaching Sephiroth about the fact that he bought it would probably take some time and look strange to anyone who overheard him, so instead he simply guided the taller man back toward the inn, making sure Sephiroth kept the fruit. As they walked, Cloud quietly whispered the most basic description of exchanging money for goods that he could think of, at least to inform the man that the fruit was his and the difference between buying and stealing. Sephiroth's silent nods as he protectively clung to the fruit were the only sign that he understood what Cloud was saying. At least, Cloud hoped that was him understanding. Worst case scenario, he'd just have to keep an eye on the man and make sure Sephiroth didn't try snatching anything without paying for it first.

When the two returned to their temporary room, Cloud flopped back onto his bed. After that event, he felt like he could sleep another day away. The blond glanced over toward Sephiroth, who sat on his own bed, still focused on the fruit. Cloud smiled in amusement. “You're supposed to eat it, you know. It's food.”

Sephiroth gave Cloud the most bewildered stare the blond had ever seen him make. Cloud just barely hid the slightest snicker at the man's noticeable confusion.

The blond pushed himself back off of his bed and moved to sit next to Sephiroth. As he sat, he held out his hand, quietly requesting permission to hold the fruit. 

Sephiroth frowned in further confusion, but, after a moment of thought, handed over his prized possession. 

Once the fruit was given to Cloud, the blond took the chance to further inspect it. It was a rather odd shape, something Cloud had never seen before, and of which he could barely describe. The color of it was vibrant as well, it looked like some form of tropical fruit. Perhaps it was something that was brought in from Mideel? At the very least, it clearly wasn't from anywhere near Midgar, and Cloud was certain there was nothing like it near Nibelheim. 

Granted, he probably wasn't going to get an answer just staring at it. It was a fruit, sold at a fruit shop, and that was about all that Cloud would be able to figure out on his own.

Content enough with that description, Cloud broke apart the fruit, splitting it into two pieces. A bit of juice squeezed out due to the action, but otherwise, the inside was rather solid. He handed both pieces back to Sephiroth as he licked the juice off his hand, hoping that was proof enough that it was edible. Cloud couldn't help but absently notice that the juice had an indescribable sharp taste, and the blond hoped the fruit itself wasn't too strong of a new flavor for Sephiroth.

The taller man glanced between Cloud and his now broken possession in concern. He seemed to take a few moments to think before finally raising one of the pieces to his mouth and taking a bite. 

Almost immediately, Sephiroth's concern and confusion turned into disgust. He had already swallowed the piece he'd bitten, so he took out his revulsion by throwing the rest of the fruit to the floor. 

Cloud hid his smile as he couldn't help but laugh at Sephiroth's reaction. In retrospect, he probably should have said some kind of warning, but it was a bit late for that now. “I'm guessing it wasn't very good?”

Sephiroth glared at Cloud as if the blond had purposely given him something so disgusting. 

Cloud raised his hands in defeat as he stood up. His smile was still noticeable, it was hard to hide his amusement toward Sephiroth's reaction. “Well, hey, at least you know you hate it now. Sometimes you just have to try things out.”

The silver-haired man's glare turned into a wary pout. Perhaps Cloud should have tried a bit harder to warn him about the strong taste, but maybe at least now Sephiroth would be a little more cautious with his curiosity toward everything. Cloud really didn't need to waste more gil having to buy every little thing Sephiroth caught interest in.

Cloud picked up the discarded fruit and examined it. Part of him wanted to try it himself to see what all the fuss was about, but that probably wasn't the best idea after it had already sat on the inn floor. He simply ended up throwing the rest into the trash, with a part of his soul crying at the waste of food in the process. Oh well, he hoped again that Sephiroth got the hint not to make the issue a habit.

Remembering his hands were still a bit sticky from the fruit's juice leaking out when he split it, Cloud instinctively started to lick at them as he walked back to his bed. He stopped, startled, as a horrid, bitter taste slammed immediately against his tongue. “Ugh, you're right, that does taste awful.”

Cloud was almost certain he caught an amused “I told you so” glimmer flash through Sephiroth's eyes, but the silver-haired man stayed vocally silent.

Cloud looked down at his hands, not rescued at all from the fruit juices thanks to how fast the taste hit him, and sighed. “Alright, I'll be right back. I need to go wash this off and never taste it again.”

Sephiroth nodded, and Cloud lingered for a moment before actually heading to the bathroom to clean up. The blond washed his hands fast, a bit paranoid of leaving Sephiroth alone for too long again. Thankfully, when he returned, Sephiroth was still exactly where Cloud had left him.

The blond returned to his bed, relieved. He really just wanted to sleep a whole month away, but he knew that was a dangerous choice. They had to leave, and soon, and night seemed like the best time to sneak out of town. They just needed a plan.

Unfortunately, the Gold Saucer was located on the other continent, and there was absolutely no way they were going to be able to swim there. The easiest ship port to find was Junon, but that was completely run by ShinRa. They'd be taking an extremely risky chance to catch a ride there, but Cloud felt as though it might end up the best option available. Perhaps he could hope that Junon hadn't heard word yet of the runaway SOLDIER and his highly classified escapee companion.

From Junon, they'd most likely end up ported at Costa del Sol. It was far less militarized, and therefore slightly safer, but still dangerous with Junon ships coming in and out. They'd still have to move fast.

The best way into the Gold Saucer, at least without raising questions and pointing attention at themselves, was via the North Corel cable car, so Cloud heard. He'd need to figure out more for that part, but it could wait until they were closer at least.

At the moment, he needed to come up with a better plan for Junon, both getting there and how the two of them were going to get on a boat. 

They definitely needed to leave Kalm now. There were fewer prying eyes, and hopefully still so soon after their escape, no one would be chasing behind them in the dead of night.

Getting on a boat during the night would be another story, though. Cloud doubted they'd get to Junon before sunrise, but even still, he couldn't think of any way to get into the city without attracting attention. Getting onto a ship during the night sounded like a severely risky move, raising far too many questions if even one person saw them, and that was if there was even a ship waiting for them at that kind of hour. He tried running a few other plans through his head, but unfortunately, found dangerous flaws in all of them, and his mind was starting to focus more on the passing time than any big, perfect plans. Whether he liked it or not, unless he came up with something along the way, he was just going to have to go with the plan to just walk in as if he belonged and hope with all of his being that no one had been tipped off yet of who to look for. He looked up at Sephiroth. At least the silver-haired man's idea to take a new set of clothes might be useful for that. Whatever he wanted to call his current outfit looked much more like it belonged next to a SOLDIER than the old hospital gown. It probably wasn't intentional on Sephiroth's end, but Cloud considered it smart regardless.

Cloud sighed. Sitting around any longer was just stalling time. “Alright, ready to get going?”

Sephiroth took a moment to process the question before quietly nodding. Both men stood up, and Cloud opened the door for Sephiroth, officially resuming their journey. The blond picked up their swords and took one more sweeping glance around the room to make sure there was no trace of them left to hint their new route save for the trash. 

Content, Cloud left the room and shut the door behind himself. Sephiroth patiently stood in the hall waiting for him. The two discreetly left the inn, and as they exited the town, a realization hit Cloud.

He passed the uncomfortably heavier sword to Sephiroth now that the silver-haired man wasn't carrying anything else, and Sephiroth took it with ease. Cloud's body felt completely relieved to not have to lug both weapons around anymore. There didn't really seem to be any way to comfortably strap the sword to Sephiroth, but he at least seemed content to just carry it around in his hands. They could find a better solution later if it started to be a problem.

Now feeling a bit more prepared for what he was getting into, Cloud held his head high and resumed their journey. He was still tired, and really their chances of success were slim to none, but he had to try. Beside him, Sephiroth seemed to stand a bit taller as well, as if drawing confidence from the fresh air and Cloud's presence.

That sight alone gave Cloud enough strength to keep going, to believe in the slim chance they had.


End file.
